Chapter 157: Joint Capture, Punch of Clarity.

"Hahaha, guys, look who's here!"

Franky, carrying Robin, had just quietly rescued her from the underground passage and jumped onto the shattered Judicial Tower supported by white 'vines'. Then he saw:

"Waaah~~ everyone~~~"

Chopper, crying while treating the others, and a row of severely injured people on the ground.

"Hey, hey, hey, we're not dead yet, why are you crying!"

Sanji, lying down and smoking, comforted Chopper.

"I... I can't go on... I see my mom waving at me..."

Sogeking, weakly groaning.

"That guy Roman."

Zoro, his chest wrapped in bandages, clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"As a companion, he's reliable, but as an opponent... he's terrifying."

Though his face showed no sign of fear.

"Guys, what happened here..."

Franky put down Robin, puzzled by the sight of the injured crew members. —It didn't make sense. These guys were strong and had the upper hand against the CP9 members earlier. How did they all end up like this after he went to rescue someone?

"It was Roman,"

Nami, rubbing her temples, explained helplessly.

"He drank something called the 'Cell Will Awakening Potion' to learn 'Seimei Kikan.' As a result—"

Not only did he learn it instantly, but he also 'overlearned' it! He turned into a boss and started beating up the Straw Hat crew. Now:

"Luffy's Gear Second is the only thing that can keep up with him, but..."

Gear Second consumes a lot of energy, while Roman, in his 'storm and thunder' state, doesn't seem to be struggling at all. If this drags on, it could end badly. If the Straw Hat crew gets wiped out by one of their own, it would be a joke.

"Alright, I'll help unlock Robin's handcuffs first."

Let's not forget that Nami was a 'thief' before joining the crew. She used a piece of paper to create a key and unlocked Robin's Seastone handcuffs. Then, everyone looked at the battlefield, where explosions and roars continued, but only two intertwined figures could be seen, and they were speechless. In such high-speed combat, they couldn't even intervene, right? So, Nami gritted her teeth.

"I have a plan."

---

"Hahaha..."

"Gear Second? ...That's all?"

Gear Second gave Luffy speed far beyond his usual, and speed itself brings power! Once in 'Gear Second,' Luffy's strength instantly soared. But—

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling!"

As Luffy swung his fists, countless 'air' bullets rained down like cannonballs! His speed had already surpassed the limits of the naked eye, requiring Observation Haki to capture. Or:

"Seimei Kikan"

"Kami-e!"

With this move, 'Roman' turned into a 'paper man'! With just a slight sidestep, he 'disappeared' from Luffy's sight, as from Luffy's perspective, there was only an almost imperceptible 'line' in the air.

And the countless fists, without a doubt, all hit empty air.

"Kami-e Demon Blade!"

Roman, in his 'paper man' form, slashed at Luffy! His arm, enhanced with Armament Haki, was as sharp as any great sword, instantly drawing a line of blood on Luffy's chest! This was despite Luffy's high-speed evasion in Gear Second.

"Tch, this guy 'Roman'..."

When he attacked, the opponent dodged everything, but when the opponent attacked, he bled. This kind of fight frustrated Luffy, and as his stamina rapidly depleted, Roman remained energetic.

Roman, this weakling, since when did he become so enduring?

Luckily, Roman didn't know what Luffy was thinking, or he might have gone into a 'second rampage' on the spot!

"Luffy! The four of us will help you—"

As Nami raised four fingers and waved her hand, Franky turned his left hand to reveal the machine gun under his wrist.

"Weapons Left Hand - Rapid Fire Mode!"

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!!

?

A barrage of bullets covered the battlefield. Although they couldn't keep up with the speed of the two, Franky wasn't worried about friendly fire because Luffy, being a rubber man, was completely immune to such attacks!

Normally, Roman wouldn't be afraid of such attacks either, but the current 'Roman' had a completely different fighting style. If the usual Roman focused on 'super creations' and control, the current 'Roman' leaned towards 'superpowers' in close combat and brawling. He relied on dodging attacks rather than using paper armor to block them.

Simply put, the usual Roman was a high-defense tank, while the current 'Roman' was a high-speed, high-dodge assassin!

"...Courting death..."

In an instant, Roman left Luffy and charged towards Franky, intending to deal with this annoying guy first! But this made his movement trajectory predictable. In other words:

"Special Attack - Gunpowder Stars!"

??

A barrage of ammunition covered Roman's path, making him impatiently wave his hand to swat them away.

"Air Palm."

Whoosh!

A giant air palm intercepted the incoming ammunition and then forcefully pushed it back! The explosions engulfed Sogeking, accompanied by a scream.

"Strong Right—"

This casual palm strike didn't even take Roman 0.1 seconds, and he had already advanced to Franky's front! As Franky raised his right hand, Roman's palm pressed against Franky's chest.

A cyborg, huh? Then—

"Vibration Palm!"

This time, Roman's attack wasn't just a simple impact but a strange high-frequency vibration transmitted through Franky's modified mechanical body. Although the tens of thousands of tiny shocks weren't strong, they bypassed the metal body to damage the weak points. After all, Franky was only a half-cyborg.

Splat!

A mouthful of blood mixed with cola spurted out, and Franky's tall body wobbled and fell back, clearly severely injured. But his face showed no sign of defeat, only a smile.

"Super~~ success!"

?

"Electromagnetic Interference!"

As Franky fell, Nami was revealed behind him. Without hesitation, she activated the book in her hand, and circles of metal wires on the ground immediately electrified, sparking and covering the area where Franky and Roman were in a chaotic electromagnetic storm.

This attack wasn't strong, not even considered an 'attack'. But Roman's face changed! The electromagnetic interference instantly disrupted his 'lightning enhancement' state, causing his speed to suddenly drop.

"Sorry, Roman."

"Thirty Fleur - Bind!"

Arms sprouted from Roman's body out of thin air. Nico Robin's Flower Fruit required a 'locked target' to use, and previously, she couldn't even distinguish between Roman and Luffy's figures.

"...Woman—?!"

Roman's face changed drastically, but he didn't care about the arms on him. As long as he entered 'paper mode', joint techniques couldn't harm him. However, another attack that could threaten him was already prepared!

"Gear Third!"

The series of attacks and defenses just now might have been dazzlingly fast for ordinary people, but for Gear Second Luffy, he should have caught up by now. The reason he hadn't was, of course:

"Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol!"

Boom—

A fist as huge as a house came crashing down with a thunderous roar! With Nami breaking his enhanced state and Robin's arms wrapped around him, 'Roman' couldn't dodge in time and had to cross his arms in front of him to block. Then:

"Tekkai!"

"Armament Haki Hardening!"

With two defensive skills activated, the giant fist slammed into 'Roman'! The entire battlefield shook violently, and the ground was plowed into a long, deep trench by the immense force. At the end of the trench stood Roman, arms crossed in defense!

The 'ground' beneath his feet rippled backward, large sections of buildings and paper twisted and deformed in the air, concrete, bricks, and paper all flew backward under the impact, dissipating the immense force.

"Blocked... blocked it?"

'Roman' lowered his trembling arms, and a look of wild joy gradually appeared on his face!

"Hahahahahaha!!!"

After throwing that punch, Luffy was already panting, lacking the energy to immediately follow up. As expected:

"I am invincible—"

Crack,

?

In an instant, a feeling of weakness washed over 'Roman,' cutting off his invincible declaration. He looked down in disbelief.

On the ground beside him lay a charred long nose.

"Usopp?!"

So that's it, from the four o'clock direction...

However, 'Roman' reacted too late, as a handcuff was already clasped around his ankle.

Robin's Seastone handcuff!

"I..."

Swish,

Before 'Roman' could think of something clever to say, Luffy had already sprinted over. This speed would have been 'jogging' under normal circumstances, but now:

With the Seastone handcuff on, 'Roman' had only turned halfway when Luffy suddenly pounced on his back, quickly wrapping his limbs around 'Roman's' arms and legs.

"Gomu Gomu no Whole Body Bind!"

Thud,

With the Seastone on his foot and Luffy binding his limbs, even the instinct-driven 'Roman' felt impending doom.

"Let... let me go!!"

"Hehehe,"

Luffy, wrapping around Roman from behind, laughed heartily.

"I told you, I'll beat you until you snap out of it."

?

"What are you going to beat me with—"

"Of course, with our crew!"

??

"Hehehe~~~" X7

Facing the circle of Straw Hat crew members, 'Roman' twitched his mouth and squeezed out a sentence.

"You guys... have no pirate honor..."

"Hehe, you're a companion. No need to talk about honor with you—"

???

"Everyone, attack together!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

"You... you are courting..."

Punches and kicks!

"Someone... help... help..."

Crash!

"...Don't hit my face..."

——————

 ----

You can read 30 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu